Talk:Transactional Synchronization Extensions

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The Intel TSX erratum fix is the first "unsafe" Intel microcode update

An interesting point: The Intel microcode update that disabled TSX is the first microcode update that violates the "microcode updates must be safe at all times" tradition that was in effect since 1995, and this fact is somewhat noteworthy.

Applying the microcode update really disables Intel TSX: it doesn't just clear the relevant cpuid bits, but also causes every Intel TSX instruction to trap with the illegal opcode exception. In a modern Linux distro, this will crash every multithreaded application linked to glibc's libpthread, causing data loss^[1]. To be safe, this microcode update must be applied very early at boot, before any programs that might attempt to use the Intel TSX instructions are started.

177.22.137.250 (talk) 14:15, 23 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! Good remark, I've added it as an external link. — Dsimic (talk | contribs) 04:47, 26 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ https://bugs.launchpad.net/intel/+bug/1370352

Intel TSX Vs TSX-NI

According to Intel:

The Intel Xeon Gold 6234 Processor has TSX-NI.[1]
The Intel Xeon Gold 6244 Processor has TSX.[2]

Clicking on the little question marks on the Intel website displays:

Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions (Intel TSX) are a set of instructions that add hardware transactional memory support to improve performance of multi-threaded software.

Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions New Instructions (Intel TSX-NI) are a set of instructions focused on multi-threaded performance scaling. This technology helps make parallel operations more efficient via improved control of locks in software.

Unlike pretty much every other feature, where the Bronze and Silver processors lack the feature while the Gold and Platinum processors have it, whether a processor is listed as having TSX or TSX-NI seems random.

Could it be that these are the exact same thing but two people at Intel added two slightly different names and descriptions? If not, what is the difference? Either way, the Wikipedia page at Transactional Synchronization Extensions should document it the difference or lack thereof. --Guy Macon (talk) 03:26, 22 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

[1] ttps://bugs.launchpad.net/intel/+bug/1370352

[1]